an accident involving a bus on Mission. We got stuck,” Eddie explained.
“I had no choice,” Cain said, looking back at the place where the vampire’s dust now settled on the floor. “I guess there goes another chance at finding out what’s going on.” He’d failed, and he didn’t like failure.
“Don’t worry.” Thomas motioned his head to the room where the dead girl lay massacred. “He deserved it. Besides, Zane and Amaury got a live one.”
Cain let out a sigh of relief.
“Clean up time,” Eddie suggested.
Cain squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “She must have suffered terribly.” When he looked up at his two colleagues, they answered his look with sad gazes of their own.
“He’ll burn in hell for it,” Thomas claimed.
Cain shook his head. “He’s free now. I should have let him live to show him what hell really is.” Because hell wasn’t on some other plane. It was right in this world.
***
Cain left the cleanup to Thomas and the other vampires who’d arrived shortly after him, and transported the prisoner that Zane and Amaury had taken back to Scanguards’ Headquarters in the Mission. While Zane and Amaury took the still-struggling vampire to one of the holding cells in the basement, Cain headed for the V lounge, a large room only accessible to vampires via their specially-coded ID cards.
He needed a distraction from what he’d seen tonight, and he knew the lounge would provide it.
As he entered, the calming atmosphere of the room instantly eased away the tension of the night. The lounge felt like an old gentlemen’s club with comfortable seating arrangements, a fireplace and a bar with blood on tap.
This was where vampires rested between assignments, caught up with their colleagues, or enjoyed a quick snack. Visiting vampires who weren’t part of Scanguards were also entertained here, but tonight Cain saw only colleagues. No visitors were present. He nodded to several of the vampires as he walked up to the bar and leaned against the counter. The woman behind it smiled at him.
He let his eyes travel over her black dress which hid none of her curves. His mouth watered at the sight. Even though he had no actual memory of it, he knew he preferred curvaceous women.
“What can I get you?” she asked politely.
How about you on a platter? he thought, but stopped himself. It would do no good screwing somebody in Scanguards’ employ. After all, he wasn’t interested in a relationship, and things could turn awkward if he had to see her again after a one-night-stand. She was a vampire and therefore wiping her memory after the act was not an option. That particular trick didn’t work on vampires, only on humans.
He would have to go to a night club on his night off and pick up a human for some uncomplicated sex, just like the vampire he’d met earlier tonight had done. But the thought of visiting a nightclub didn’t appeal to him right now, not after what he’d seen there tonight. Perhaps a visit to Vera’s brothel would be in order. Her girls were pretty and asked no questions. And ever since he’d started working for Scanguards, he had enough money to spend on diversions like that.
Cane pointed to one of the taps. “AB positive, please.”
His eyes continued to watch her as she poured the red liquid into a wine glass and put it in front of him, then tapped her register. Without having to be prompted, he swiped his ID to pay for his drink. The price of the blood was subsidized by Scanguards. In fact, Scanguards sold it to its employees at cost, a service they provided in order to convince more vampires to drink bottled blood rather than feed directly from humans.
Cain liked the convenience of bottled blood, but on occasion he went out to hunt. It wasn’t something he flaunted, particularly in front of Oliver, who had enough problems with keeping himself in check. It wouldn’t help him if he knew that Cain also enjoyed a little hunt now and then. He fully agreed with Quinn, though, that Oliver first had to learn to control himself before he could be let loose on the general public. And from what Cain could see, Oliver was as far away from that goal as he’d ever been.
Cain took his drink and slunk into an empty Wingback armchair in front of the fireplace.
The words of the vampire he’d killed echoed in his head. She didn’t have the right blood.